FORT FAIRFIELD JOURNAL

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The gross inability of government to efficiently and effectively deal with social problems has prompted a group of concerned Fort Fairfield inhabitants to consider ways to help their neighbors during the upcoming winter season, and to provide that help with minimal government "red tape."

The largest and most aggressively active citizen’s group in Fort Fairfield is Friends Helping Friends (FHF) food pantry, which was co-founded by Steve Lewis, Shawn Murchison and Jeff Armstrong. FHF has grown into a large community assistance group by placing Christ first in their mission.

Mr. Lewis heads day-to-day operations of Friends Helping Friends and looks forward to working with others both in and out of government to meet the challenges faced by the community this winter.

A meeting of private citizens, church leaders and Friends Helping Friends was recently held at the Fort Fairfield town office council chambers. The meeting was hosted by Janet Kelle, Fort Fairfield Chamber of Commerce Executive Director and Betty Hersey, Fort Fairfield General Assistance Administrator.

“Betty and I attended a heating assistance summit at Northern Maine Community College and discovered nobody has any answers to the high heating costs and there’s not a lot of government money to help,” said Kelle. “Service groups were planning on referring those in need back to their respective towns for assistance.”

Plans were discussed to develop a community phone tree where local volunteers would contact anyone who might be at risk this winter, once the outside temperature got below a predetermined level. The phone call would be to check on their safety and well-being and would also verify if there was enough fuel oil in their tank. “Our main goal is to keep our friends and family safe this winter,” said Kelle.

The idea of a warming shelter in the community was brought up as a place for people to come and warm up if they ran out of fuel. However, the logistics of how to run such a shelter, set time limits for stays and a process to return people to their homes in a timely manner seemed greater than the group was able to bear.

“The best solution is to keep people in their homes,” said John Herold, who attended as part of the citizen group. “If they leave their homes and the fuel has run out, then they’ll have other problems to deal with, such as busted water pipes. If they can’t afford fuel oil, they certainly won’t be able to afford water damage. I think we should find a way to keep their furnaces going, rather than moving them around.”

Currently, the Fort Fairfield Elementary school is equipped to provide heat, electricity and shelter in the event of a community-wide emergency, such as an ice storm. But, has no ability to provide on-demand warming rooms for day-to-day use.

Since there are no fuel oil dealers open overnight, the group discussed possibly storing some emergency supplies of fuel oil in five gallon cans for those who run out after hours. “Of course, we’d like them to contact us for help before they run out of fuel,” said Kelle.

For those who are set up with wood stoves or pellet stoves, Herold suggested donations of spare firewood and wood pellets could be solicited from area vendors. Steve Lewis indicated it may be possible to store some of the pellets at their food pantry site on Presque Isle street.

Assisting elderly homeowners with winterization and insulating projects was brought up, but Kelle was concerned about liability issues. “If the insulation is installed improperly, or if moisture builds up and mold becomes present, it could come back on the person installing it as a potential lawsuit.” It was suggested that a waiver could be offered that would allow the homeowner to waive any litigation or damages for the services rendered to their homes.

In addition to fuel assistance, food was also mentioned. “When we first started the food pantry, people were choosing between medicine or food. Now, it’s fuel or medicine and forget the food,” said Lewis.

Friends Helping Friends food pantry is currently able to purchase quality, name-brand food in bulk from Good Shepherd food pantry at a cost of just 16 cents per pound. “Since we are all volunteers at Friends Helping Friends, all money donated to us goes directly into purchasing food,” explained Lewis, “therefore it is much more efficient for people to donate money for us to use to buy food at the reduced price than it is for them to pay full price at a store and donate food directly.”

An anonymous benefactor from Portland recently donated $3,000 to the town of Fort Fairfield for heating oil emergencies this winter. The money is being administered by Betty Hersey at the town office. The first step for receiving assistance is to contact the town office. After hours, a call to the Fort Fairfield Police Department will enable people to get in touch with Hersey, who remains “on call” 24 hours a day through the winter to assist with heating oil emergencies for those in need. “General Assistance has very strict guidelines for eligibility,” explained Hersey. “Not everyone qualifies, only those who literally have little to no income.”

It is that “red tape” that has prompted the citizens to work toward figuring out ways to help their neighbors who don’t necessarily qualify for General Assistance, but have found themselves caught in a bind and with no heat. “We’re a community and that means we’re neighbors and we should treat each other as neighbors,” said Jeff Armstrong. “I think at times, there’s entirely too much red tape and paperwork that has to be filled out and unfortunately it’s being required when the person is in most need of assistance.”

For those interested in assisting with this group’s goals, they should contact Janet Kelle, 472-3802; Betty Hersey, 472-3800 or Steve Lewis, 472-3041. The group plans a December meeting to discuss implementation of their goals.